A teaching/learning support tool for introductory programming courses

In This work we present a Web-based tool developed with the aim of reinforcing teaching and learning of introductory programming courses. This tool provides support for teaching and learning. From the teacher's perspective the system introduces important gains with respect to the classical teaching methodology. It reinforces lecture and laboratory sessions, makes it possible to give personalized attention to the student, assesses the degree of participation of the students and most importantly, performs a continuous assessment of the student's progress. From the student's perspective it provides a learning framework, consisting in a help environment and a correction environment, which facilitates their personal work. With this tool students are more motivated to do programming

An automatic correction tool for relational database schemas

A Web-based tool developed to automatically correct relational database schemas is presented. This tool has been integrated into a more general e-learning platform and is used to reinforce teaching and learning on database courses. This platform assigns to each student a set of database problems selected from a common repository. The student has to design a relational database schema and enter it into the system through a user friendly interface specifically designed for it. The correction tool corrects the design and shows detected errors. The student has the chance to correct them and send a new solution. These steps can be repeated as many times as required until a correct solution is obtained. Currently, this system is being used in different introductory database courses at the University of Girona with very promising results

Key competences in the new ventures: a model for evaluating

This research studies from an internal view based on the Competency-Based Perspective (CBP), key organizational competencies developed for small new business. CBP is chosen in an attempt to explain the differences characterizing the closed companies from the consolidated ones. The main contribution of this paper is the definition of a set of key organizational competencies for new ventures from services and low technology based sectors. Using the classification proposed by [1] and a review of the entrepreneurship literature, the main competencies were defined and classified as: managerial, input-based, transformation-based, and output-based competencies. The proposed model for evaluating new ventures organizational competence is tested by means of Structural Equation

Integració 3D de detectors de píxels híbrids

La miniaturització de la industria microelectrònica és un fet del tot inqüestionables i la tecnologia CMOS no n'és una excepció. En conseqüència la comunitat científica s'ha plantejat dos grans reptes: En primer lloc portar la tecnologia CMOS el més lluny possible ('Beyond CMOS') tot desenvolupant sistemes d'altes prestacions com microprocessadors, micro - nanosistemes o bé sistemes de píxels. I en segon lloc encetar una nova generació electrònica basada en tecnologies totalment diferents dins l'àmbit de les Nanotecnologies. Tots aquests avanços exigeixen una recerca i innovació constant en la resta d'àrees complementaries com són les d'encapsulat. L'encapsulat ha de satisfer bàsicament tres funcions: Interfície elèctrica del sistema amb l'exterior, Proporcionar un suport mecànic al sistema i Proporcionar un camí de dissipació de calor. Per tant, si tenim en compte que la majoria d'aquests dispositius d'altes prestacions demanden un alt nombre d'entrades i sortides, els mòduls multixip (MCMs) i la tecnologia flip chip es presenten com una solució molt interessant per aquests tipus de dispositiu. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és la de desenvolupar una tecnologia de mòduls multixip basada en interconnexions flip chip per a la integració de detectors de píxels híbrids, que inclou: 1) El desenvolupament d'una tecnologia de bumping basada en bumps de soldadura Sn/Ag eutèctics dipositats per electrodeposició amb un pitch de 50µm, i 2) El desenvolupament d'una tecnologia de vies d'or en silici que permet interconnectar i apilar xips verticalment (3D packaging) amb un pitch de 100µm. Finalment aquesta alta capacitat d'interconnexió dels encapsulats flip chip ha permès que sistemes de píxels tradicionalment monolítics puguin evolucionar cap a sistemes híbrids més compactes i complexes, i que en aquesta tesi s'ha vist reflectit transferint la tecnologia desenvolupada al camp de la física d'altes energies, en concret implantant el sistema de bump bonding d'un mamògraf digital. Addicionalment s'ha implantat també un dispositiu detector híbrid modular per a la reconstrucció d'imatges 3D en temps real, que ha donat lloc a una patent.

SME’s Alliance Dynamics in the Mobile Marketing Industry

This paper presents a case study of the two similar sized, new, technology-based firms acting as alliance partners in the Mobile commerce industry. The analysis describes how the alliance dynamics in our case study relate to seminal research in the field of business alliance formation. Contrary to the established predictions we find that the negative influence on alliance performance described as a consequence of the dissolved routinized alliance pattern by seminal authors is not present. At the same time, the case study shows that internalization of complementary assets does not by necessity result in dissolution of the business alliance as argued from a resource and competence based perspective.

Supporting multi-organisational collaborative groups in the public sector

In this paper, the issues that arise in multi-organisational collaborative groups (MOCGs) in the public sector are discussed and how a technology-based group support system (GSS) could assist individuals within these groups. MOCGs are commonly used in the public sector to find solutions to multifaceted social problems. Finding solutions for such problems is difficult because their scope is outside the boundary of a single government agency. The standard approach to solving such problems is collaborative involving a diverse range of stakeholders. Collaborative working can be advantageous but it also introduces its own pressures. Conflicts can arise due to the multiple contexts and goals of group members and the organisations that they represent. Trust, communication and a shared interface are crucial to making any significant progress. A GSS could support these elements.

Using historical lesion volume data in the design of a new phase II clinical trial in acute stroke

Background and Purpose-Clinical research into the treatment of acute stroke is complicated, is costly, and has often been unsuccessful. Developments in imaging technology based on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans offer opportunities for screening experimental therapies during phase II testing so as to deliver only the most promising interventions to phase III. We discuss the design and the appropriate sample size for phase II studies in stroke based on lesion volume. Methods-Determination of the relation between analyses of lesion volumes and of neurologic outcomes is illustrated using data from placebo trial patients from the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive. The size of an effect on lesion volume that would lead to a clinically relevant treatment effect in terms of a measure, such as modified Rankin score (mRS), is found. The sample size to detect that magnitude of effect on lesion volume is then calculated. Simulation is used to evaluate different criteria for proceeding from phase II to phase III. Results-The odds ratios for mRS correspond roughly to the square root of odds ratios for lesion volume, implying that for equivalent power specifications, sample sizes based on lesion volumes should be about one fourth of those based on mRS. Relaxation of power requirements, appropriate for phase II, lead to further sample size reductions. For example, a phase III trial comparing a novel treatment with placebo with a total sample size of 1518 patients might be motivated from a phase II trial of 126 patients comparing the same 2 treatment arms. Discussion-Definitive phase III trials in stroke should aim to demonstrate significant effects of treatment on clinical outcomes. However, more direct outcomes such as lesion volume can be useful in phase II for determining whether such phase III trials should be undertaken in the first place. (Stroke. 2009;40:1347-1352.)

Integrated optics for nulling interferometry in the thermal infrared

Modal filtering is based on the capability of single-mode waveguides to transmit only one complex amplitude function to eliminate virtually any perturbation of the interfering wavefronts, thus making very high rejection ratios possible in a nulling interferometer. In the present paper we focus on the progress of Integrated Optics in the thermal infrared [6-20 mu m] range, one of the two candidate technologies for the fabrication of Modal Filters, together with fiber optics. In conclusion of the European Space Agency's (ESA) "Integrated Optics for Darwin" activity, etched layers of clialcogenide material deposited on chalcogenide glass substrates was selected among four candidates as the technology with the best potential to simultaneously meet the filtering efficiency, absolute and spectral transmission, and beam coupling requirements. ESA's new "Integrated Optics" activity started at mid-2007 with the purpose of improving the technology until compliant prototypes can be manufactured and validated, expectedly by the end of 2009. The present paper aims at introducing the project and the components requirements and functions. The selected materials and preliminary designs, as well as the experimental validation logic and test benches are presented. More details are provided on the progress of the main technology: vacuum deposition in the co-evaporation mode and subsequent etching of chalcogenide layers. In addition., preliminary investigations of an alternative technology based on burying a chalcogenide optical fiber core into a chalcogenide substrate are presented. Specific developments of anti-reflective solutions designed for the mitigation of Fresnel losses at the input and output surface of the components are also introduced.

A multi-agent system for pervasive healthcare

Wireless technology based pervasive healthcare has been proposed in many applications such as disease management and accident prevention for cost saving and promoting citizen’s wellbeing. However, the emphasis so far is on the artefacts with limited attentions to guiding the development of an effective and efficient solution for pervasive healthcare. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a framework of multi-agent systems design for pervasive healthcare by adopting the concept of pervasive informatics and using the methods of organisational semiotics. The proposed multi-agent system for pervasive healthcare utilises sensory information to support healthcare professionals for providing appropriate care. The key contributions contain theoretical aspect and practical aspect. In theory, this paper articulates the information interactions between the pervasive healthcare environment and stakeholders by using the methods of organisational semiotics; in practice, the proposed framework improves the healthcare quality by providing appropriate medical attentions when and as needed. In this paper, both systems and functional architecture of the multi-agent system are elaborated with the use of wireless technologies such as RFID and wireless sensor networks. The future study will focus on the implementation of the proposed framework.

Aprendizagem e desenvolvimento organizacional : uma experiência com o modelo da quinta disciplina

A complexidade e pressão que o contexto atual de mudança tem gerado para as organizações, tem exigido delas habilidades diferentes daquelas privilegiadas na era das organizações mecanicistas. A aprendizagem tornou-se uma das habilidades-chave para sobrevivência e desenvolvimento das organizações modernas. Alguns modelos gerenciais apresentam-se visando melhorar as capacidades de aprendizagem das organizações. Alguns tratam da questão estrutural, outros da questão comportamental. Um desses vem recebendo interesse especial, pela sua ênfase no elemento humano nas organizações: o modelo da Quinta Disciplina, de Peter M. Senge e seus colegas do M.I.T. - Massachussets Institute of Technology. Por ter como pressuposto que as organizações são em essência produto do pensar e interagir dos seus membros, sugere que a sua transformação passa por mudanças fundamentais nas formas como as pessoas pensam e interagem. Todavia, observa-se que a prática educacional e experiencial do modelo não tem levado em consideração alguns dos seus aspectos fundamentais. Desta forma, este estudo exploratório pretende descrever e avaliar as reações à aplicação do modelo numa realidade organizacional como forma de obter insights úteis para a prática e pesquisa em organizações, uma vez levando em consideração estes aspectos fundamentais. Como resultado, este trabalho descreve e analisa a experiência à luz das cinco disciplinas, unidades básicas do modelo, dando ênfase especial ao pensamento sistêmico, e descreve e analisa a experiência à luz de algumas variáveis, processos e dimensões-chave do estudo das organizações que apresentaram-se relevantes dentro do trabalho.

Gestão de transferência de inovações tecnológicas para empresas do setor produtivo: complexidade no relacionamento entre organizações de culturas diferentes

The motivation of this study is based on the expectation of understanding, at least in part, the reason why the brazilian academic production ¿ which is among the largest if compared to the developing countries, has not been translated in a useful way into concrete technology transference for the production sector. The supposition that different cultures and subcultures, in terms of values, behavior, practices among organizations and groups of selected actors involved in that process,- which is the central problem of this study, and peculiar to the technology context, has elected that relationship process the object of this research this study theoretical fundaments rely on culture and technology to analyze the subcultures which manifest themselves through the typified groups of researchers, in the public organizations, small scale employers, acting on technology based companies in the private sector (ebts) and mediators. Who also act in the process the preliminary step was the case study. Several qualitative methods an procedures were used. And the investigation has advanced toward interacting interviews, at the end added by the focal group method. The conclusions reject the existence of incompatibility among the subject groups points of view, however, points out some divergent values, the presence of mutual stereotypes and also confirms the supposition that the research platform is strongly influenced by the financial factor. Although, the study reveals that the presence of common objectives which lay behind the cited divergences make possible to present a core of practical suggestions to implement the studied relationships for the benefit of the production sector as well. The peculiarities perceived while dealing with that singular context suggest futures research to clarify possible new and obscure areas in that complex relationships.

A influência dos ativos intangíveis na análise de risco de crédito de empresas de base tecnológica

Evolution is present in world dynamics. And it is just in such transformational environment where companies have been encapsulated. In an economy of knowledge, physical assets alone are unable to provide profits to meet shareholders' demands. Now there comes an invisible component with the purpose of defining strategies and impelling results: Intangible Assets. Banking financing systems, however, have not kept pace with this knowledge revolution and its resulting new income generation techniques. Credit analysis methods for most financing agents would not employ any intangible parameters in their methodology of study as yet. This paper seeks to discuss the importance of intangible assets by focusing their role of influencial factor in decisions to finance technology-based companies. By studying the credit risk classification system employed by FINEP, Brazil's Federal Agency for innovation development, we wished to suggest indicators for intangibles which might be put to use in the Financiadora.

O papel da confiança na coprodução

Esse trabalho investigou empiricamente a influência que a confiança que o cliente deposita no prestador de serviços exerce sobre a efetividade da coprodução do cliente em serviços intensivos em conhecimento baseados em tecnologia. Para tanto, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura de marketing de serviços e de gerenciamento de operações sobre a participação do cliente na produção e entrega de serviços, que é o que caracteriza genericamente a coprodução do cliente. Também foi revisada a literatura sobre serviços intensivos em conhecimento, em busca de entender suas características e especificidades, e sobre confiança, especialmente na área de marketing de relacionamento. Sobre a participação do cliente na produção e entrega de serviços, constatou-se que existe na literatura uma visão consagrada que trata o cliente como “funcionário parcial” da empresa durante os encontros de serviços. Essa visão propõe recorrentemente um modelo conceitual em que a efetividade da coprodução do cliente apresenta três antecedentes fundamentais: clareza de papel, motivação e expertise do cliente. Além disso, foi identificada uma proposição teórica especificamente para o setor de serviços intensivos em conhecimento, nunca testada empiricamente, que sugere que esses três antecedentes da efetividade da coprodução são influenciados por um conjunto de comportamentos colaborativos desejáveis, batizados de responsabilidades do papel do cliente. Dessa forma, este trabalho testou um modelo conceitual que estabeleceu a confiança e as responsabilidades do papel do cliente como antecedentes da clareza de papel, motivação e expertise do cliente no processo de coprodução do cliente. Foi utilizada uma abordagem quantitativa e os dados foram levantados junto a profissionais que já participaram de projetos de software na condição de clientes. A coleta de dados usou um questionário estruturado construído a partir de escalas de mensuração de estudos anteriores. As relações entre os conceitos foram testadas por meio da técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais. Os resultados obtidos apresentaram evidências de que a confiança e as responsabilidades do papel do cliente impactam positivamente a clareza de papel, a motivação ou a expertise do cliente, abrindo espaço para pesquisas futuras que aprofundem o entendimento das relações entre esses conceitos e sua importância para a efetividade da coprodução do cliente.

Lean startup: análise exploratória sobre sua utilização por novas empresas brasileiras

Recentemente diversos empreendedores passaram a empregar uma nova abordagem na criação de empresas, denominada “Lean Startup” que, começou a ser difundida no Brasil em 2012 com o livro de Eric Ries. Seguindo a perspectiva do empreendedorismo como método, ela representa uma ruptura nos estudos de empreendedorismo, pois é diferente da abordagem preditiva utilizada até então em que elabora-se um plano de negócios e, somente depois da busca de investimentos, o produto é testado com clientes. Embora muito utilizada, existem poucos estudos acadêmicos sobre as práticas Lean aplicadas a Startups, daí a relevância do presente estudo. Com caráter exploratório, a pesquisa utiliza uma metodologia quantitativa e se vale de uma survey, respondida por 115 empreendedores, sócios de empresas de base tecnológica com até 42 meses de existência, com o objetivo de descobrir se eles conhecem a Lean Startup, o quanto suas ferramentas são adotadas e se elas trazem efeitos positivos. Como resultado, constatou-se que a Lean Startup é amplamente conhecida e utilizada, foram encontradas sinalizações de resultados positivos obtidos pelo uso de algumas de suas ferramentas - feedback acelerado, produto mínimo viável (PMV) e métricas da contabilidade para inovação, que medem o aprendizado no lugar de lucro. Dessa forma, a pesquisa contribui com o aumento do conhecimento sobre a Lean Startup, bem como por meio da formulação de perguntas para direcionar estudo futuros.

Otimização de vazão de poços injetores em projeto de injeção de água utilizando simulação por linhas de fluxo

Until the early 90s, the simulation of fluid flow in oil reservoir basically used the numerical technique of finite differences. Since then, there was a big development in simulation technology based on streamlines, so that nowadays it is being used in several cases and it can represent the physical mechanisms that influence the fluid flow, such as compressibility, capillarity and gravitational segregation. Streamline-based flow simulation is a tool that can help enough in waterflood project management, because it provides important information not available through traditional simulation of finite differences and shows, in a direct way, the influence between injector well and producer well. This work presents the application of a methodology published in literature for optimizing water injection projects in modeling of a Brazilian Potiguar Basin reservoir that has a large number of wells. This methodology considers changes of injection well rates over time, based on information available through streamline simulation. This methodology reduces injection rates in wells of lower efficiency and increases injection rates in more efficient wells. In the proposed model, the methodology was effective. The optimized alternatives presented higher oil recovery associated with a lower water injection volume. This shows better efficiency and, consequently, reduction in costs. Considering the wide use of the water injection in oil fields, the positive outcome of the modeling is important, because it shows a case study of increasing of oil recovery achieved simply through better distribution of water injection rates